FIJI: Public broadcast tender case adjourned

A Fiji High Court hearing on an application for a stay order over a tender awarded to a commercial radio station for the Hindustani public broadcasting service has been adjourned to Wednesday

Pacific Media Watch
Thursday, March 18, 2004

By Ruci Mafi and Taniela Gavidi

SUVA (Wansolwara Online/Pacific Media Watch): A Fiji High Court hearing on an application for a stay order over a tender awarded to a commercial radio station for the Hindustani public broadcasting service has been adjourned to Wednesday.

The case was heard in chambers by Justice Filimoni Jitoko at the Suva High Court today.

The adjournment was to allow the Major Tenders Board, represented by the Solicitor-General, to make a submission.

The government-owned Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited (FBCL) wants the High Court to quash the tenders boardıs decision in favour of the private broadcaster Communication Fiji Limited (CFL).

In its application, the FBCL, which is represented by Munro Leys, says the CFL tender was "non-conforming" because the CFL did not tender for the Fijian language service but only for the Hindustani language service.

This was against the requirements of the tender, which offered both the Fijian and Hindi language services as a "package".

"The tender specifications were explicit in requiring national coverage of the entire population. The CFL tender appears to have been confined to the Hindustani speaking market," the application said.

FBCL said that in making the decision the Major Tenders Board had failed to take account of relevant considerations and was prejudiced against the company, which had submitted a conforming tender.

Lateef and Lateef, the lawyers representing CFL, said that the adjournment would allow them to study the submissions made earlier today.

Government awarded CFL the Hindustani public service tender on November 25 last year.

CFL had bought equipment worth $1 million to allow it's new Hindustani service to provide the services as stipulated in the programme schedule of the tender.

The company had said that it would launch its new Hindi public service programmes on April 1.

The CFL managing director, William Parkinson, said in an earlier statement the new network would feature a wide range of community based programming.

The FBCL chief executive officer, Francis Herman, said he could not comment on the case until it was disposed of by the courts.

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Date Posted: 3/18/2004